Bill VanLoo
teacher, specializing in design and technology
Lesson Plans
The following lesson plans were created by Bill VanLoo, and are available for download and use by educators. Please see the copyright section for usage information.
- Portable Lighting Unit Design - Unit Plan
About: The chance for students to use the design process to create a real-world object presents exciting opportunities. This unit plan guides students through the process of choosing an audience, analyzing their needs, and then designing and prototyping a working portable lighting unit (think: flashlight) for that audience.
- Design By Numbers / Processing Visual Programming - Unit Plan
About: In the simplest terms, "visual programming" means writing computer code that will draw a pattern, design or animation on the screen. This unit explores two different environments: Design by Numbers (DBN) and Processing.
The visual programming unit has strong ties to both mathematics and art. Both DBN and Processing use a coordinate (X-Y) system to describe where lines and dots should be drawn, and this connects directly to geometry or CAD systems. There is also a deep connection to the world of art, since the output of the computer programs is an image.
Download the Design By Numbers / Processing Visual Programming Unit Plan [1MB PDF]
This set of lesson plans was developed as part of TEDU350, "Curriculum in Technology and Vocational Education" at Eastern Michigan University, taught by Thomas Ogle.
- Street System Design techfolio/lesson plan
About: This lesson plan and techfolio uses the following design challenge I created: "Design and mock up the street system for a small neighborhood.". It is appropriate for grades 6-12, with appropriate modifications.
Download the Street System Design techfolio/lesson plan [208K PDF]Download my example street system design [54K PDF]
This lesson plan and techfolio was created for TEDU118, "Energy and Transportation", taught by Thomas Pachera at Eastern Michigan University.
- 1-Hour Challenges: Vehicles in Motion
About: The idea of the 1-Hour Challenge is that it's a bite-sized lesson, just enough to fill about 45-50 minutes of class time, get students engaged, and complete the task while (hopefully) learning something.
The short version of the lesson plan is this: Design and build a vehicle that moves with minimal human power to get it started. It can roll, fly, slide or move in any other way the students decide on. There is a small collection of resources that their groups can choose from (rubber bands, paper, string, etc), and materials are secured by an auction-style bidding process. This means students get the experience of working with limited resources and being forced to modify their designs to accomodate new requirements based on the resources they could secure.
Download the 1-Hour Challenge: Vehicles in Motion lesson plan.
- 1-Hour Challenges: Lego Bridges
About: The idea of the 1-Hour Challenge is that it's a bite-sized lesson, just enough to fill about 45-50 minutes of class time, get students engaged, and complete the task while (hopefully) learning something.
The design brief for the lesson plan is this: Design and build a bridge that spans 14 inches, with a maximum of 6 inches of overhand on each side, and holds as much weight as possible.
Download the 1-Hour Challenge: Lego Bridges lesson plan.
copyright
The lesson plans, techfolios and other related material on this page were developed by Bill VanLoo. If not stated otherwise, all material is copyright Bill VanLoo, and licensed for use by educators via the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.
See http://www.creativecommons.org for more information.
- 1-Hour Challenges: Lego Bridges